[2] Punotia lagopus grows in dense, large cushions up to over 1 meter in diameter and 60 centimeters high.

Its short, cylindrical, bumpy, and densely hairy shoots can reach up to 25 centimeters or more, sometimes shorter and spherical.

Fine hairs up to 2 centimeters long emerge from the areoles in a single row.

The golden yellow flowers are 2 to 3 centimeters long, with hairy pericarpels towards the tip.

[3] The species is found in the highlands of Peru in the region of Puno around Imata and Arequipa to the department of La Paz in Bolivia, growing in humid grasslands at altitudes of 4100 to 4700 meters.